Asbestos Exposure by Industry

Petroleum Refining & Petrochemical

Critical Risk

Oil refineries are among the highest-risk asbestos exposure environments ever studied. Every process unit — distillation towers, catalytic crackers, hydrodesulfurizers, heat exchangers, and miles of piping — was insulated with asbestos through the 1970s. Refinery turnarounds, when process units are shut down for maintenance, involved systematic removal and replacement of asbestos insulation, generating extremely high fiber concentrations in confined work areas.

Major exposure sites: Houston Ship Channel, Port Arthur, Beaumont, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Bay Area refineries

Shipbuilding & Ship Repair

Critical Risk

U.S. Navy specifications required asbestos insulation on all shipboard steam systems through the early 1970s. Navy vessels were essentially floating asbestos environments — pipe lagging, boiler insulation, bulkhead linings, and thousands of components throughout every compartment contained asbestos. Confined ship spaces meant workers breathed highly concentrated fiber clouds with no ventilation.

Major exposure sites: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Avondale Shipyards, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point / Mare Island, Long Beach Naval Shipyard

Power Generation (Utilities)

Critical Risk

Coal, oil, and gas power plants used asbestos extensively on turbines, boilers, steam piping, and electrical equipment throughout their facilities. Boilermakers who installed and maintained boilers — and insulators who wrapped steam piping systems — faced heavy exposure at utility plants across the country.

Industry Risk Summary